When you first joined LinkedIn, it made sense to fill in just enough facts to get your Profile active and allow you to connect with others. However, if it’s been a few months and you still have a bare-bones Profile, it probably won't generate results for your job search. Even if it does attract visitors, they’ll quickly leave to find someone more interesting. The reality about LinkedIn is this: it’s an amazing job search tool...

On the receiving end of a recruiter’s call? Found a great job online, but it closes soon? Your elation can quickly turn to panic, especially if you haven’t updated your resume in some time. You’ll want to maximize every minute, of course, while creating a document that makes it look as if you’ve spent weeks crafting each word. Here are 3 shortcuts to reviewing and refreshing your resume – all in short order – to meet the deman...

Frustrated (and confused) by the response to your executive resume? With so many executives in the job market, your resume must grab attention quickly. If you want to land the right interviews, personal branding that clearly positions you as a leader is a requirement - especially when distinguishing yourself among competitors. Keep in mind that an executive career story is often difficult to capture, with numerous job changes...

Writing your resume for the first time in years? Struggling to get a response after sending it out to employers?Whether you’re aware of it or not, resume trends have changed substantially, and the document you send out will compete with better-designed resumes that quickly spark employer interest.Ignoring these trends in format and writing style can make it harder for your resume to catch a hiring manager’s eye. The way your m...

If you’ve searched the Internet for a professional or executive resume writer lately, you’re bound to find endless choices.How do you decide who is the best writer for you? What criteria should you use in judging a writer’s abilities? And above all, who can you trust to get you into the job of your choice?To get the results you want (more interviews!) and maximize the ROI on your investment, look for a professional resume writ...

Professional resume writers often encounter this scenario: a new client asks for a resume rewrite, and upon looking over their original document, it becomes apparent that something looks familiar.Then, it suddenly becomes clear: the resume was written for someone else, and copied by a friend!If you've copied a compelling professional resume, you have a lot of company. But barring the obvious part about copyright infringement,...

Many executives and senior-level professionals planning to enter the job market will consider contacting a recruiter to find out about open jobs in their field. However, presenting yourself as a great candidate to work with a recruiter doesn’t just happen. It’s important to understand the relationship among all involved parties (the recruiter, company, and you), get your resume in top shape, and to be ready to deal with potent...

Cisco Systems announced its largest layoff ever in July 2011, and employees are certainly feeling the aftershocks.With 6,500 staff being cut (up to a 14% drop in its workforce), Cisco has announced that it plans to restructure in order to maintain a competitive position.If you’re one of those affected by this or other layoffs, what should you do? It's no secret that professionals have bemoaned the state of the job market now f...

Spent the majority of your career building a successful operation or business, only to find that you’re now in the job market due to unforeseen circumstances? If your executive reputation has always carried you from job to job, it can be difficult to explain your stature to those outside your circle of influence. Many executives in these unprecedented times never even expected to need a resume, much less convey the magnitude...

An interesting practice seems to have cropped up among self-written social media profiles, where the phrases that have been taboo on resumes (like “self-motivated team player”) are creeping back into lists of job hunter credentials on LinkedIn.Unfortunately, these mundane, dry, and redundant phrases can make it difficult for you to maximize the power of LinkedIn as an executive job search tool.It’s also challenging for recruit...